Divorce and family change revisited: professional women’s divorce experience in Turkey

In this study we try to shed light on changed family structure through the act of divorce. Divorce reveals much about the nature of family life, particularly the challenges and stresses families face. The increased rate of divorce seen over the last decade is a sign of the stress families are experiencing. Liberalisation of divorce laws (i.e. enactment of no-fault divorce in 1988) and New Civil Code reforms are analysed as the mechanisms behind the increased divorce rate. At the same time, we scrutinise altered grounds for divorce, thereby revealing the role played by changes in individual perceptions of divorce. Moreover, as is evinced by this study, another challenge for existing family structures manifests itself in the wake of divorce. Following divorce, alternative family forms such as single-parent families – often headed by women – and patterns of remarriage pose challenges to the monolithic family structure in Turkey. Therefore, understanding these diverse patterns is crucial to understanding changes in family structure in Turkish setting. The current study aims to increase knowledge of the current condition of the family in Turkey. Through a qualitative study of one landmark society we hope to shed some new light on the current condition and future of families in developing countries.